April 25, 2011 - The Concordia Cougars' normally potent scoring offense was stifled on Monday afternoon as the host Spartans of Aurora University took both ends of a doubleheader by scores of 3-2 and 6-0. The losses were the first two for the Cougars in Northern Athletics Conference play after a 12-0 start.
Early indications were that Monday would be a pitchers' day, and Micah Buss (Columbus, IN/Columbus North) was certainly on his game. He held the Spartans without a hit through the first five innings. Aurora's only baserunners came via an error in the fourth (which was promptly erased on a double play) and a two-out walk in the fifth.
The Cougars broke through in the fourth inning with a manufactured run. Nick Skala (Long Grove, IL/St. Viator) led off with a single and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Thomas Gier (Fox Lake, IL/Grant) grounded out to the first baseman, moving Skala to third base. Cam Stephens (Rosemont, IL/East Leyden) then grounded out to the shortstop with Skala crossing the plate for a 1-0 lead.
The lead became 2-0 in the sixth. Brenden Schulz (Kenosha, WI/Bradford) drew a leadoff walk, and Eric Ignatowski (Carol Stream, IL/Glenbard North) moved him up 90 feet with a sacrifice bunt. Schulz made it to third on a passed ball and then scored when Skala beat out an infield hit to the shortstop.
Schulz retired the first Aurora batter in the sixth, but Bobby Wilson singled to breeak up the no-hitter and spark the Spartans' attack. Anthony Amedei singled, and both runners subsequently moved up on a wild pitch. That would loom large when Tim Mackey singled to score a pair and knot the game at 2-2. Fortunately, Buss limited further damage by picking off Mackey.
The Cougars put two runners on base in both the seventh and eighth innings but were unable to do anything with them. The Spartans then scored in the bottom of the eighth as Wilson and Mackey singled. Buss struck out Ryan Adams for the second out, but Brett Van Asdlen greeted reliever Pat Conlin (Arlington Heights, IL/Rolling Meadows) with a base hit to right and score Wilson with the go-ahead run. Aurora's Drew Gay came out for the ninth and finished what he started, retiring the Cougars 1-2-3.
Aurora's late momentum from game one carried over into the nightcap. Once again, it was Mackey providing the clutch hit for the Spartans with a two-run single off of Schulz for a 3-0 second-inning lead.
Concordia wasted a glorious scoring opportunity in the fourth. Stephens doubled to lead off the inning, and Ryan Pacyga (Forest Park, IL/Nazareth Academy) singled to put runners on the corners with nobody out. However, Stephen Sitterly got Gier to fly out to short leftfield and then fanned Robert Weis (Oak Creek, WI/H.S.) and Dan Eichholzer (Elwood, IL/Joliet Township) to keep the Cougars off the board.
Aurora added to its lead with a run in the fifth and an unearned tally in the seventh, both off of Schulz. John Hurley (River Grove, IL/Fenwick) recorded the final out of the seventh before giving way to Tim Milroy (Batavia, IL/Marmion Academy) to start the eighth. The Spartans scored their final tally off Milroy without benefit of a hit as a passed ball and wild pitch figured into the run.
The losses put the Cougars at 12-2 in NAC play (22-7 overall), one game ahead of the Spartans at 10-2. Concordia will return to action Friday afternoon when they host the University of Chicago.
